Why is the Lufbery Trench Watch unique?

My name is Stuart and I am a History teacher, watch enthusiast and the founder of Lufbery Watches. I am a huge fan of vintage military watches and I have spent years building up a modest collection. However, the watch that I could never find to complete it was the first ever military watch and the grandfather of every military watch in existence: the trench watch. The original WW1-era trench watches are too unreliable to use today (they are over one hundred years old) or too small (some are only 34mm in diameter) to wear out and about.

There are homage trench watches on the market, but they are either way out of my History teacher salary's budget or are just extremely poor quality and cheap looking. I created the Lufbery Trench Watch after years of searching for a wearable homage version and I can say with confidence that the Lufbery Trench Watch is unique. There are no watches on the market that pay homage to the original trench watch design as closely as the Lufbery Trench Watch that are also well made and reasonably priced. 

Created by a History teacher

As a History teacher I love trench watches. They were the first watches built for battle; every military watch in existence can trace its origin to the trench watch, from the classic field watches of the Vietnam War-era to the 'Dirty Dozen' from WW2. Trench watches were the first masculine watch; they were designed to be tough, solid and practical (they had to survive the battlefields of Flanders after all) and were in complete contrast to the dainty pocket watches which came before them. As well as being tough, trench watches were also design icons, with stunning art nouveau dials, hands and numerals.

The Lufbery Trench Watch pays homage to the original trench watches as much as possible, in both its solid toughness and its iconic style. In order to recognise the influence that the original trench watches have had on the Lufbery Trench Watches design, on the back of every Lufbery case is an engraving of a WW1-era British Mark VII tank. These saw action in 1918, just as the trench watch was becoming ubiquitous on the front-line. 

The Lufbery Trench Watch versus the WW1-era trench watches

The case

The original trench watches were small: normally they were 36mm in diameter, however there were some as small as 34mm diameter. The Lufbery Trench Watch is designed for the twenty-first century, so it is 40mm in diameter and 48mm lug to lug. The original trench watches were solid and so is the Lufbery Trench Watch. The case is crafted from premium 316L stainless steel and is tough. Each Lufbery Trench Watch comes with a two-year guarantee.

The crystal

The crystal on the Lufbery Trench Watch is scratch resistant sapphire glass. One issue with original trench watches is that they had mineral glass which sometimes scratched or shattered in battle conditions.

The dial
 

The dials, the numerals and the hands of the Lufbery Trench Watch are accurate when you compare them to the original trench watches. It is very rare to find a watch with the colouring of the Lufbery Dragoon now, however in WW1 they were fairly common due to the fact the contrast meant they were easier to see at night.

Luminous hands and numerals
 

The original trench watches had radium coated hands and numerals. Radium is now illegal to use due to its radioactivity, so I opted for C3 super-luminova with the Lufbery Trench Watches. 

The movement
 

The Lufbery Trench Watches are equipped with two different types of movement. The quartz version is powered by a Seiko VD78 movement and prices start at £110. The automatic version is powered by Seiko NH15 movement (the movement has 21 jewels) and prices start at £160. Original trench watches were always mechanical as they pre-dated automatic movements (invented in 1922) and quartz movements (invented by Seiko in 1969).

The finishing touches
 

The original trench watches often had maker's marks engraved onto the case. The Lufbery Trench Watch has a 1918 Mark VII tank engraved on the back. This is to commemorate the link between the Lufbery Trench Watch and the original designs from WW1. On the crown of the Lufbery Trench Watch is the Lufbery logo, which is inspired by the British Army's 'broad arrow' which was engraved on all military equipment during the First World War.

Specifications

Case size: 40mm.

Case thickness: 11mm.

Lug Width: 18mm.

Lug to Lug: 48mm.

Caseback: Engraving of a Mark VII WW1 tank (the Lufbery's official name is the Lufbery Mark VII. The Lufbery Mark VI was the range of pocket watches that were on Kickstarter in February 2017).

Crown: Screw-down with an engraving of the Lufbery logo (inspired by the British military's broad arrow).

Movement: Seiko NH15 (automatic) or Seiko VD78 (quartz) depending on the model.

Dial: Applied 3D Indexes filled with C3 super-luminova.

Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal.

Water resistant: 5ATM

Strap: Italian calf leather. 18mm in width.

Packaging: Lufbery box.

Warranty: 2 years.

The Lufbery Trench Watch Collection

The Lufbery Grenadier 

Named after the Grenadier regiments of the British Army. The design of the Lufbery Grenadier is very accurate to that of the original trench watches. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

The Lufbery Dragoon

Named after the Dragoon regiments of the British Army. The black and white dial was extremely common during WW1-era trench watches due to the fact the contrasting colours made it easier to see at night. Today the design is extremely rare; I have never seen a watch with a similar dial despite years of searching. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

The Lufbery Fusilier

Named after the Fusilier regiments of the British Army. The design of the Fusilier is also very accurate to that of the original trench watches. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

The Lufbery Highlander

Named after the Highland regiments of the British Army. There were no WW1-era trench watches with the black on black design, it just wouldn't be practical in a battle. I went with it though because I think it looks pretty cool. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

The Lufbery Scots Greys

Named after the Royal Scots Greys, a now defunct cavalry regiment which my Grandfather served in during the Third Anglo-Afghan War. There were some WW1-era trench watches with a bronze case (note that the Lufbery Scots Greys has a stainless-steel case with a bronze finish), however they were fairly rare and are very valuable today. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

The Lufbery Engineer

Named after the Engineer regiments of the British Army. Like the Lufbery Scots Greys there were some original trench watches with this design, however they were pretty rare. The Quartz version has the small second dial, the Automatic version has the date window.

Reviews

Packaging

All Lufbery Trench Watches come in a specially crafted box with an information booklet. Like the actual Lufbery Trench Watches, the box is excellent quality and is made to last. 

About Lufbery Watches

The first Lufbery Watches Kickstarter campaign was in February 2017 for a collection of pocket watches inspired by the cockpit watches of the First World War. The company is named after the WW1 aerial manoeuvre known as the Lufbery Circle and our logo is inspired by the British Army’s ‘broad arrow’ which was stamped on the back of all military equipment during WW1. Check out our Kickstarter video from 2017 below.

In April, the Lufbery Trench Watch was originally launched on Kickstarter, but sadly didn’t do as well as I hoped (please check out the Kickstarter video below). I would like to thank the Lufbery Trench Watch backers and fans who have been kind enough to offer me feedback on the design. This campaign wouldn't have relaunched without your help. 

 About me

My name is Stuart and I am a History teacher and watch enthusiast from Surrey, UK. I am married with two children and I have had so much fun creating the Lufbery Trench Watch. I hope you love the design and find the history as interesting as I do.

Risks and challenges

Forecasting Risk Taking the Lufbery from prototype to production will almost certainly have unforeseen issues, but we've done our best to forecast demand and create a solid production plan. Should we miss projections, we'll let you know when and why, and make it right as soon as possible. Supply Chain Risk We are very confident in our supply chain which consists of very professional and talented suppliers and manufacturers. We do not expect any delays to our timeline, but if the unexpected happens, rest assured we will keep you well informed until you receive your timepiece.